


In All Kinds of Weather

by scatter



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Developing Relationship, First Kiss, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-23
Updated: 2013-02-23
Packaged: 2017-12-03 09:08:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/696632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scatter/pseuds/scatter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Souji and Yosuke share an umbrella. Yosuke isn't entirely sure, but he thinks it counts as their first date.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In All Kinds of Weather

**Author's Note:**

> My apologies for how rusty this is.

It wasn't exactly the type of thing Yosuke'd ever thought he'd be proud of but he'd gotten pretty good at keeping track of the weather. He had to be; he could hardly be involved in the case - much less be Souji's self-appointed second-in-command - if he didn't know what night the Midnight Channel was going to be on or when they were due for another day of fog. Still, the weather forecast was hardly the most interesting thing in the world and checking it occasionally slipped his mind, which was how he came out of class at the end of the day and found himself faced with a sheet of rain so heavy it virtually obscured the school courtyard.

Knowing it was fruitless, he checked his bag. No umbrella. "Crap."

From behind him, Souji said, "It wasn't this bad a little while ago. Funny how quickly it changes."

"Hey, partner." Souji joined him by the window, and together they watched their classmates leave the building. Most of them were sheltered under their umbrellas and a few huddled two or three together in an attempt to keep dry, but Yosuke spotted a couple others who headed out empty-handed, resigned to arriving home wet. "Looks like we're going to get soaked."

"Hmm?" Souji held up his umbrella and looked him over curiously when Yosuke didn't do the same. "You didn't bring yours? Didn't you check the weather this morning?"

Yosuke cleared his throat. "Uh, I forgot."

"That's too bad." Souji didn't sound like he meant it. Actually, he looked rather pleased as he undid the strap that held his umbrella closed. "You want to share mine? I'll walk you home."

That sounded a lot better than being stuck in the rain but... Yosuke looked around. With club activities canceled for the day, school was clearing out fast but there were still a few students lingering in the halls, either goofing off or vainly waiting for the rain to let up. He lowered his voice. "Isn't two guys sharing an umbrella a little...?"

Souji stared at him for a minute before shrugging and pushing the door to the courtyard open. Without a buffer, the rain was so loud Yosuke had a hard time hearing him. "It's up to you."

He started to step out.

"No, wait, I didn't mean it like that like." Souji turned to him expectantly. Yosuke allowed himself one last second of hesitation but it was pouring and it couldn't be too bad, sharing an umbrella with another guy. With Souji. He took off his headphones and shoved them inside his bag where he hoped they'd stay dry. "I'm coming."

Souji popped his umbrella open. "Stay close. It's not that big."

He sounded more than a little pleased about that.

He'd been right about the size; the umbrella might have been enough for one person but even with their shoulders brushing, Yosuke's bag was partially exposed. He frowned at it, but switching it over would push him away from Souji and expose his arm. It'd be fine, he decided. The only thing he really cared about in there were his headphones and they were safely covered by papers that could be rewritten and textbooks that could be dried out.

They were halfway across the courtyard when he remembered something. "My bike," he said, slowing down.

Souji glanced at it but didn't stop walking. "It's soaked."

Yosuke grabbed his arm and tugged him to a stop. "I know that, but I've got to get it."

"You're not thinking of riding it, are you?" Souji asked. "It's too wet for that, and I'm not sure I could hold the umbrella steady if we rode."

"If we did that, we'd look like idiots." Yosuke headed to the bike rack, and Souji followed, keeping him covered. "I'm just going to walk it home."

"Why? You should leave it. Look, a bunch of other people did."

Now that he mentioned it, there were more bikes than usual still locked up. Yosuke's stuck out, though, the only bright yellow one in the bunch. "I don't want to take any chances. What if someone messes with it?"

"That's not going to happen."

"It might. Someone'd probably find it really funny it if the Junes kid suddenly had a broken bike chain."

Souji looked annoyed on his behalf, which was nice, but Yosuke wasn't looking for sympathy, just to make sure that it didn't happen again. He set to work undoing his bike lock. "You don't need to hurry home and check on Nanako-chan, do you? Cause if you do--"

"No, she'll be fine." Souji leaned forward in an attempt to read his combination. "A little wet, probably, but she'll be okay until I get there. She's good at taking care of herself."

Something about the look Souji sent his way as he said that made Yosuke ask, "But I need someone to walk me home, huh?"

"Nanako's not the one who forgot her umbrella."

"Funny." Yosuke pulled his bike free. "Come on, let's go."

It was even more crowded trying to walk his bike and stay dry, and after a moment of trying to get comfortable, Yosuke gave up and tried to make peace with the fact that he was going to end up at least a little more soaked than he liked. There was only so much space available, after all, and if he got any closer to Souji, they might be cited for public indecency. Not that Souji seemed to mind.

"You're pretty happy about this, huh?" Yosuke asked as they squeezed together to walk around a particularly deep puddle.

"Is there something wrong with that?"

Yosuke rolled his shoulders. "I didn't say that."

"I don't get it," Souji said. "You give me rides on your bike all the time. How is this any different?"

"It just is." For one thing, Yosuke was the one who extended the offer, and, just as importantly, he was always the one pedaling. "Look, can I at least hold the umbrella?"

"Is that what this is about? Yosuke, it doesn't matter who holds it. But, no, you can't. It's mine." Souji twitched it away like he thought Yosuke was going to reach out and grab it, and Yosuke flinched as water fell onto his face. "Sorry."

Yosuke wiped his cheek. "Don't worry about it. But are you really not worried about people talking? You know how it is here - it's like nobody's got anything better to do except spread rumors."

"And those only last about a week before they're making another one up. People's memories aren't that long. Anyway, you're giving us too much credit. We're not interesting enough for anyone to pay attention to us." To prove his point, Souji gestured to the few other students on the street, the majority of whom had their heads down against the weather, occupied with their own thoughts. "I bet you we could hold hands right now and no one would notice."

Yosuke tightened his grip on his handlebars. Was that a joke or an invitation? He started to take one hand off his bike, hesitated, and then had to rush to straighten it out as the front tire slipped and started to turn. Feeling like an idiot, he glanced over and found Souji staring at him.

"Or," Souji said, tone light, "I could try singing."

Annoyed at himself, Yosuke could only managed a short laugh. "No way. Even if no one else cares, I'm here, and you're seriously tone deaf."

"I'm not that bad, am I?" Distracted, Souji mulled the thought over. He didn't show any sign of trying to hold hands, and oddly frustrated, Yosuke turned his attention to their surroundings.

Inaba'd always struck Yosuke as small and that impression only got stronger when it rained. No one went outside or drove any more than they had to, and as the other students gradually disappeared into their homes, he could almost believe they were the only two people left in town.

It reminded him a bit of when the fog got bad, actually. "We should probably check the TV tonight," he said.

"Mmm-hmm."

Souji didn't say anything else, and Yosuke let the subject drop. He wasn't in the mood to think about the case right now anyway, and Souji didn't seemed bothered by the silence. That was cool; Yosuke could handle it too.

"Hey," he said, "you're slowing down."

"I thought we'd take our time," Souji said. "Or are you in a rush?"

Yosuke's shoes were wet, his right arm was soaked where the umbrella didn't cover it, and he wasn't handling this whole thing nearly as well as he would have liked, but even so it wasn't bad, walking like this. It wasn't much different from when he took the long way to Souji's house when he was dropping him off, and Souji'd never complained about that. He slowed his steps. "No, this is fine."

Eventually his house came into view, sticking out in that sore way it tended to do even through the rain. Yosuke nodded towards it. "That's mine over here."

Souji looked it over. Yosuke'd been to his place about half a dozen times, sometimes invited and sometimes not, but this was the first time Souji'd seen where he lived. "What's up the roof?"

"Yeah, it's weird, I know."

"No, it's okay. It's got character."

"That's just another way of saying it's weird."

Yosuke leaned his bike against the side of the house when they reached it, placing it under the eaves where it would avoid the worst of the rain. He didn't like leaving it outside more than he had to but until he dried it off there was no way he could bring it to his room.

"Well," Souji said, as they stood in front of the door, "we're here."

"Guess so. Thanks, partner."

Instead of turning to leave, Souji stepped a little closer. "Anytime."

Yosuke knew what Souji intended to do, of course. He'd spent the last two weeks expecting it so he wasn't really surprised when Souji leaned in. Nervous, maybe, but not surprised, and he started forward too, but... The street was _right there_. Without thinking, he glanced at it only to have it blocked from view as Souji dropped the umbrella. Yosuke dunked his head as the wind blew the rain into his face, but Souji didn't miss a beat, following his movement and kissing him.

It wasn't quite how Yosuke'd envisioned their first kiss when he'd let himself imagine it - the angle was bad for one thing, and there was water running down the back of his shirt, and he'd kind of wanted to be the one to initiate it. For all that, though, it wasn't bad, and it only got better when he straightened up so their mouths met properly.

Souji was smiling when he drew back. "You okay?"

Yosuke got why he was asking but it was still embarrassing. "Shut up," he mumbled. That wasn't an answer, though, and he knew it. "It's cool, I'm fine."

Souji straightened the umbrella again, for all the good it did. His hair was sticking to one side his face, but he looked so pleased that Yosuke doubted he noticed. "It's supposed to keep raining tomorrow," he said. "I'll pick you up in the morning?"

"Sure." Yosuke touched his mouth then realized what he was doing and shoved his hands in his pockets. He was pretty sure he was blushing, which was definitely uncool, but he didn't have to act like he'd never been kissed. "Okay. Catch you later."

"Great." Souji lingered a while longer, staring at him and smiling like an idiot until Yosuke couldn't handle it anymore and shooed him away. Then he went inside to get a towel. He had a sudden urge to do something with his hands and wiping down his bike sounded like a good idea.

He was more composed when Souji showed up the next morning. Sure, he'd spent the last ten minutes watching the window for him, but that was just good manners. No need to leave Souji waiting in the rain for him longer than he had to.

"No umbrella again?" Souji asked, giving his leg a shake to dislodge some of the water on his shoe. From the look of his pants, he'd stepped in a puddle on the way over.

"Ted lost it," Yosuke admitted, closing the door behind him. "Once he saw how it opened he wouldn't stop playing with it, and now he can't remember where he put it."

"Then I guess we're sharing again. Let's go."

Yosuke waited until they were walking to ask, "Hey, any chance I can hold it this time?"

Souji looked amused. "Not really."

"Fine," Yosuke said, "but don't ask to pedal the next time I give you a ride."

"So I'll just have to hold on to you while you do all the work?" Souji asked. "Somehow I think I'll be okay with that."


End file.
